The first thing I saw when I woke up on that hill was the night sky.A beautiful sky, full of stars shining like a long-forgotten dream.
That sky I saw that day was the dream I had chased in my past life —rising, reaching, hoping to see the stars shine again.
It was the wish the Earth made the day the gods took it away from us —and in their absence, the demons came…
That shining sky I once hated now hung above my head again.That silent symphony had caused the death of so many people.
I thought I'd never see it again.Yet here I am, crying alone on that hill —mourning deaths that haven't even happened yet,screaming the hatred I hold for a world that hasn't even begun to fall into hell.
I spent the rest of the night on that hill,gazing at the moon and the stars, letting the wind carry my tears.
But only one sentence kept echoing in my mind as I looked at this world,as if I were trying to reassure myself:
"It won't happen again. I won't let it."
The night slowly gave way to the sun.I walked toward my old house, but I didn't enter.I didn't need to.I simply left a letter I had written the night before... and walked away.
No glance back.No goodbye.Nothing.It wasn't the time for that.
I walked through the streets of the city I once loved so deeply,remembering my past, my friends, and all the joy I had once found there.
I even remember smiling that day in front of one of their homes.Those beautiful days were long gone for me.
But it's not over for them.And it won't end with me.
The first place I went was the village church —a place where people once shared dreams, laughter...but also the headquarters of every Ranger in the region.
In my past life, I learned one thing:
There is only one way to overcome weakness —walk into the places where the strong gather,and destroy every single one of them through your own strength.
I took off my t-shirt and stole a coat from a store on my way to the church.
Then, I entered that holy place.
At first, no one looked at me.Not a single soul.
But as I began to rush toward the mountain of muscle seated around the table — eating, drinking like pigs — I grabbed the leg of a table without hesitation.
I leapt at the first man who looked at me.
No one noticed this ragged teenager, bare-chested under an old stolen coat. No one... until the sharp sound of splintering wood.
The first giant's skull split open under the shattered table.
— "Too slow."
I slammed the wooden plank against his skull, careful with my aim.
I slipped on the coat.A smile crept across my face.
"MY NAME IS AZAREL!""Brainless hunters ! I swear I'll overpower every last one of you ! Come at ME"
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
A seasoned hunter had grabbed him.Too late. Still too slow.
Azarel seized his wrist, spun, and smashed him into the stone column.The crunch of breaking bones drowned out the screams.
— "WHO THE HELL ARE YOU, BRAT?!"
A third one, faster, lunged at him.
Azarel was waiting.Knee to the stomach.Elbow to the throat.Heel to the temple.
Three seconds.Three bodies on the ground.
The laughter died.The others stood, weapons drawn.Their gazes were torn between mockery... and fear.
Azarel raised his arms.His coat opened, revealing a tense, scarred torso — and a calm far too cold for his age.
A hunter charged, blade gleaming.
The boy sidestepped, spun, grabbed the man's neck, and slammed him headfirst into a table.
The ground shook.
Then came the rush.
A hail of blows.Screams.Blood.
Azarel moved like a demon — enraged, yet precise.Every strike calculated.Every movement survival instinct sharpened by hate.
He wasn't strong.He was determined.
And that was enough to break them.
When silence returned, the hall lay in ruins.
Azarel stood among the wreckage, panting, fists dripping blood, eyes still burning.
— "If you're the strongest this city has to offer… then this world is weaker than I remember."
And I walked away, without looking back.
Victorious
But as soon as I turned around, I saw them —a table of five men still drinking, untouched, unfazed.
They were known as the Red maw of the Church.Its final shield. Its last line of defense.
Famous for their brutality.Feared for their raw, overwhelming power.
Even if I was stronger than they believed,I didn't stand a chance — not even against only one of them.
So I acted like I hadn't seen them.I walked past, pretending I was letting them live…until the day I'd return to destroy them.
But then I heard it.
A voice.Rough as stone. Heavy as fate.It echoed through the church — and through my bones.
— "WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING, CHILD?"
— "I HOPE YOU HAD FUN."
Before I could react, the world spun.Then — crack.My face hit the floor.
They didn't kill me.They didn't need to.
They beat me.For an hour.Fists, boots, laughter.Until I was left half-dead on the side of the road.
I couldn't move my arms. My legs were shattered.Blood filled my mouth. I was bleeding inside and out.
But still…
I had achieved my goal.
Whether I succeeded or not didn't matter.The only thing that did…
Was this:
To shine among them.To become one of them.
And I did.
I shone brighter than anyone could've predicted.
In that exact moment —broken, humiliated, nearly dead —I felt something unexpected.
Relief.
"this cruel world hadn't changed. It was exactly what I needed."